Hrvatski Telekom expands into Montenegro

The Croatian incumbent Hrvatski Telekom has signed a share purchase agreement with Hungary’s Magyar Telekom to buy the latter’s 76.53% stake in the Montenegrin telco Crnogorski Telekom.

The deal, which is worth €123.5 million, is expected to be completed by the end of this month.

Crnogorski Telekom is the largest telco in Montenegro and the clear market leader in the country’s fixed-line market, with a 93.6% share as of Q3 2016. In Q3, it had 73,000 broadband and 60,100 IPTV customers, while its fibre optic network reached over 53,000 households, or 27% of the country’s total.

Hrvatski Telekom notes that the transaction is part of its growth strategy through expansion into regional markets.

Commenting on the deal, Davor Tomaskovic, the company’s president of the management board, said: “With the acquisition of Crnogorski Telekom, we expect substantial synergies between Hrvatski Telekom and Crnogorski Telekom, first of all through the transfer of knowledge and technology, as well the optimisation of business processes and joint market presence.

“I am convinced that the strengths and experience of Hrvatski Telekom will significantly contribute to the further development and even greater success of Crnogorski Telekom. This is supported by the fact that in the last three years, despite an unfavourable market environment, Hrvatski Telekom’s transformation initiatives have reversed the negative trends and stabilized all key financial indicators in its business.”

The financial and management consolidation of Crnogorski Telekom is planned to commence after the transaction has closed.

After the transaction has been completed, Hrvatski Telekom, will own 76.53% of shares in Crnogorski Telekom, while the remaining 23.47% will continue to be owned by individuals and legal entities.

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